WOES OF GHANAIAN INTERNS.

    As the saying goes; in order to become a strong person,  you need to rub shoulders with strong or great people and also interact with professionals and moguls in a career or a chosen field of study you aspire to get into. This and many other reasons has made it necessary for students to go on 'attachments'  or internships to bridge the gap between what they study at school and how things are actually done practically in the job market. This  has made it essential for students to apply to various companies or organisations expressing their desire to do internship with them to enable them gain some work experience and see how work is done properly since they just know the theory aspects but have no ideas in terms of the practical aspects.
    But the main purpose of internships are being overlooked these days as students end up gaining little or no knowledge from the various organisations  they applied to as they become 'errands boys or girls' for the staff during working hours to get one item  or the other hence interns don't actually get the opportunity to see and learn anything as 'sending them on errands' prevents them from achieving their main purpose.
       A few interns I interacted with regarding how their internships went got me hearing the same things over and over. Most complained bitterly of how they had no opportunity to see 'everything' relating to how work goes on in the organisation to even acquire any practical knowledge which would enable them to further ask questions for clarification.  Others also complained about how they were ill - treated by some of the staff and also a few also complained about how some staff in the organisations they found themselves at shredded their day to day responsibilities since the interns were around to 'bail' them out. The worst of them all thought it was a waste of time and human resources without getting anything in return.
    Hmmmmms (sighing) this is just too much and needs to be reviewed. Internship is a necessary component of the educational process which gradually ushers the student in to the career or job market and also helps them to have a feel of a typical work environment so that they know what to expect when they find themselves in certain positions.
    Internships are an integral part of the educational process therefore measures need to be put in place to eschew any negative act that will discourage students from having hands on practical knowledge. I look forward to see an improvement in our educational sector which will further promote growth and development in all sectors of the economy.